On this next part of the series, I look into one of the mini-bosses – Krampus, as well as one of the items that it can drop, A Lump of Coal. If you’re wondering why I am talking about Krampus when it is not an item, well I am using a loophole via the existence of the Head of Krampus item to talk about Krampus itself.
Neither are exactly dark. But I thought it would be interesting to take a look into them anyway. Dark undertones certainly exist and I’d say Krampus is definitely dark for children.
Krampus
Krampus is a folkloric entity that originates from Central Europe, in particular within the Austrian and German Alpine regions. Only since the mid-1980s has it become more globally popular due to its presence in a number of American Christmas horror flicks, mostly where Krampus is portrayed inaccurately. At the same time many have also complained of Krampus becoming over commercialized due to this.
The entity is a half-man, half-goat, or half-goat, half-demon with prominent horns protruding from the head. Some depictions have Krampus looking more demonic and beastly with dark body fur and imp-like proportions and comparisons can also been made to the Satyr from Greek mythology, while other depictions give him a more human-like appearance. He often also has fangs, a long tongue, and cloven hooves.
One depiction I found of Krampus showed him with one cloven hoof and one clawed foot, as well as a dark beard and tail.
Some legends also have him carrying a chain and bells that he swings about as well as a bundle of birch sticks that he uses to hit naughty children with.
It is believed that Krampus came from pagan beliefs. Krampus might even be the son of the Norse god Hel, who is the god of the underworld, or at least connected to that legend in some way. Krampus could also originate from pre-Germanic pagan customs in Alpine Austria, casting out Winter and evil spirits. Some challenge these origins though, saying they had been deliberately disseminated by folklorists during the 20th Century.
Krampus has also been associated with the Perchtenlauf, a pagan procession from the 17th and 18th Centuries, in this people dressed up as an anthropomorphic goat figure called Percht, who is a pagan goddess from Alpine Upper Germany and Austria.
It is said Percht rewarded good children with a silver coin, and bad children would be disemboweled and stuffed with straw and pebbles. You know, nothing too graphic.
As Christianity overtook paganism the Krampus entity eventually transitioned to being associated with Christmas, to the detriment of the Catholic Church who tried to ban the figure, possibly seeing it as blasphemous.
From then on Krampus was said to travel with St. Nicholas, the patron Saint of children. St. Nicholas would give gifts to the children who were good while Krampus would punish the bad children by beating them with a branch, this would take place on the night of the 5th December, known as Krampus Night (Krampusnacht).
The good children would then awake on St. Nicholas Day to find their presents while the bad children woke up to sore bruises, or worse, they may wake up in some hellish nightmare or they may never awake at all…
Other lore claims that Krampus may instead eat naughty children or drag them to Hell by placing them in a sack or basket on his back or locking them in chains attached to himself, he may also torture or drown them, I do wonder if this part was added on by parents wanting to pacify particularly troublesome children, or it could possibly be bastardization of the original legend.
It seems Christianity probably played a role in adding these elements, such as the addition of chains, and the basket/sack to carry children to Hell. One theory for the addition of the chains is that it evoked the binding of the Devil.
One of the big festivals that involves Krampus in Austria and Germany is the Krampus Run held in various communities during the Christmas period, it is something that has especially become more popular in the modern day. The Krampus Run sees people dressing up as Krampus, drinking lots of alcohol, and parading through the streets, trying to scare people watching and also now and again chasing them.
If you do happen to get chased you may be hard pressed to find a place to get away, as many times the Krampus will chase people into public buildings and shops, laughing at the person foolishly believing they would be safe there. Some of those taking part may also give quite a heavy hit with their sticks, although hits are usually aimed at the legs. So, I would not go to one of these events and expect an easy time.
One of the areas that holds annual Krampus Processions in its communities is the western Austrian alpine state of Tyrol. The website says that the tradition dates back centuries in the area, and that the region’s towns and villages play host to wild ceremonies in early December. Not each is the same either with communities putting their own spin and touches on to the events through their own traditions.
One of the processions in East Tyrol sees young local men taking on Krampuses to see who is strongest and most courageous, in what is known as Tischziachn. Groups of six to eight men try to stop the Krampuses from flipping over a heavy wooden table. Another procession in Tarrenz is known for its decorated masks, some over a century old. The procession in Rattenberg sees Krampuses marching down narrow streets as they bang fuel canisters.
A lot of time and effort also goes into the creation of masks and costumes, they are not merely cheaply mass-produced items, but things that have been hand-crafted through skill and time, the intricate carving of masks from wood and the creation of costumes from real animal hide.
So, from possible pagan symbol, to childhood boogeyman, to Christianisation, to commercialized popularity, an anti-Christmas figure, Krampus has come a long way from its mysterious origins. And with some of the things it is said to do to some of the most vulnerable in our society, I think we can say there are dark elements to it.
A Lump of Coal
You might be interested to know that once upon a time coal was actually considered a gift, giving it to someone as a present for Christmas or even for winter time served as a token to ward off the cold of the season. It has only been since the beginning of the 20th Century did it become an insult and a token of having been naughty to children.
Before that time Santa was not betrayed as delivering coal to naughty children, instead he may deliver something like a birchen rod, implying that such naughty children should be lashed rather than get any gifts.
That time was only really beginning to see the adoption of coal over wood in the domestic household, other than that it was largely absent. As well as an implement for lashing, naughty children may have instead received something such as stones, ashes and cold potatoes, at least in the US anyway.
It was not until coal started appearing in abundance within domestic households that it begins to show up in various Christmas stories. You have stories that point towards coal being a good gift for adults but a disappointing gift for children, while other stories show the glee and happiness brought to poor families who receive coal as a present.
It was when coal became more plentiful that it really started to be seen as a poor gift, something that is so easily obtained is pointless to gift. Stories begun replacing stones and potatoes with coal, likely as it was so abundant and quicker to access within the home, leading to it becoming the new naughty children gift.
So, the spread of it through stories brought it to general popularity and then once mass media came along, such as more books, magazines, newspapers, and television it became ever more prominent and spread into the cultural fabric of Christmas.
Now coal is not so easily accessed anymore as once again infrastructure has long since improved and moved beyond it.
The tradition has nonetheless been kept alive in the modern era, especially in the age of the internet and world wide web where it has become more of a humour-making digital joke gift or gag, especially parents who choose to prank their kids with it and post the results on to social media and Youtube. There are even joke-products of other things that incorporate coal in some fashion.
But above is mostly the story for the US. What about elsewhere? It seems that gifting coal to children may indeed originate further back. 16th Century in the Netherlands had children put out clogs in hopes of sweets or other goodies, bad children may instead find coal in their clogs.
Italy has an old tradition that predates Santa Claus, known as La Befana, who is an elderly woman or witch who delivers presents to good children on the eve of Epiphany. She will leave something lesser for bad children which may include coal, but can also be onion or garlic.
At the same time for these above things, it could also be that coal was once again substituted at a later time rather than earlier on.
It is also possible that it may have originated from Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol novella in 1843.
Of course, no one is quite sure exactly how or where it originated. Just as with the origins of Krampus, it is shrouded in a degree of mystery.
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